Track-sanding appliance.



Patented Mar. II, 190 2.

J. GAPP. TRACK SANDING APPLIANBE.

(Applicaltion filed Sept. 25, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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part of my invention.

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JOHN GAPP, OF SOBANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRACK-S ANDING APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,300, dated March 11, 1902.

Application filed September 25, 1901. Serial No. 76,465, (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN GAPP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track-Sanding Appliances, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying. drawings.

This invention relates to appliances on comotives for sanding the tracks to increase friction for the drive-wheels; and it relates more particularly to that class of sand appliances in which a jet of compressed airis used to drive the sand through the pipes.

The objects of the invention are to eliminate the difficulties arising from condensation-waterin the sand-pipes consequent upon the introduction of cold-air blasts therein, to prevent the clogging of pipes by settling of gravel or any other heavy substance therein, to facilitate the cleansing of the pipes, to simplify the general construction, to increase the efficiency of such appliances, to improve the form, and other objects, as are herein specified, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

To these ends the invention consists of the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts, as specified, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an interior view of a section of the forked pipe constituting a part of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a partial exterior and partial interior view of a double drain-valve and sand-trap member constituting an essential Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the member shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of parts of a locomotive, illustrating my device attached thereto. Fig. 5 shows a screen used in the drain-valve.

Similar characters of reference denote like and corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the usual sand-box of a locomotive, from which leads pipe 2, conducting the sand downward. The pipe 2 connects with a Y member 3, branching into pipes 4 and 5, respectively, the pipe designated 4 being intended to conveysand through the delivery-pipe 6 and the pipe 5 being intended to convey sand to the delivery-pipe 7, the pipe 6 being used when the locomotive is in forward motion and the pipe 7 in running backward.

The pipes 4 and 5 lead, respectively, into the right and left hand sides of the double trap and drain-valve member 8, which has a right and left side constructed exactly alike, being adapted to receive a supply of sand through the nipples 9 and 10 from the pipesv 4 and 5, respectively, and to deliver the same through the nipples 11 and 12 to the deliverypipes 6 and 7, respectively.

The Y member 3 of the apparatus is provided with a turn-valve 13, closing the passage of the pipe 2. The said turn-valve is threaded in the walls of the Y member at 14 and is held secure by a jammut 15, it being controlled from without by applying a key or wrench to the square shank 16. Directly under and in line with the pipes 4 and 5, respectively, are removable plugs 17 and 18, having screw-threaded connections with the walls of the member 3. These plugs are provided with a sloping projection 19, extending into the chamber 20 of the member 8. A projection 21 from the walls of the chamber extends outward in the direction of the sloping surface of the plug 19, the said projection 21 servingin general to deflect the downfalling sand, so that it falls and strikes the sloping surface 22 of the plug 19. A jet of air is introduced into both sides of the member Sfrom pipes 23 and 24, leading from the cab of the locomotive, where the supply is controlled by valves 25 and 26, respectively, which connect the air-delivery pipes with an air-supply pipe 27, leading from an air-pressure tank 23. The air-supply to the member 8 may be delivered from either side of the 1nembe'rthat is, from the inside or from the outside, as convenience may suggest. In the view shown the air-pipes connect on the inner side by the member 45, attached to the pipes 23 24 through and by the bushing 29. A nipple extends downward on the inside of the chamber 31, so that a draft of air driven into the chamber through the pipe is directed downward toward the drain-valve 32, which is attached to the plug 33, closing the lower end of the chamber 31. This drain-valve 32 is constructed from a stop and a coiled spring 35, normally holding the stop upward, so as to allow water gathering in the chamber 31 to be drawn off, but being arranged whenair-pressure isintroduced to be shutoff by the downward pressure of the air on the stop 34. A thimble or guard 36 is screwed on the lower end of the valve and is provided with an orifice 37, through which condensation-water may waste away. The air under pressure -is directed into the sand-pipe by means of a passage-way 38, extending through the plug 39, which closes the upper end of the chamber 31. This plug, which has screwthreaded connection and is removable for the purpose of cleansing,has a U-shaped passageway 38 extending through it, one end of the said passage connecting with the chamber3l and the other end of the passage connecting and leading to the nozzle 40 for the purpose of blowing the sand out through the deliverypipe. The passage-way 38 may be modified and altogether closed off by means of a turnvalve 41, which passes into and closes the passage-way 38 at the point 42. A similar screw 41 is used for each chamber 31 of the member 8, and a double cap 43 may be placed over the plugs 39 and have the screws 41 41 passed through the holes 44 44 from the exterior of the cap 43, the cap 43 being intended as a safeguard against gathering of moistn re in the delicate passages of the plugs.

In the operation of the device the valve 13 is opened to such an extent as to allow the pipes 4 and 5 to fill with sand in the course of a specified time. The time in which the pipes may fill is varied according to the degree which the valve is opened. A column of sand is thus provided in each pipe ready To be acted upon and forced through the delivery-pipes 6 and 7 by the action ofthe jets of air directed, respectively, to the right and left-sides of the member 8, the jet of air being directed to the right-hand side only in sanding the tracks for the forward motion of the locomotive and to the left-hand side only in sanding the tracks for the backward motion of the locomotive. The engineer is enabled to control either side by turning the valve 25, connected with the right-hand side, or the valve 26, connected with the left-hand side, as occasion requires. The air of course should be kept up to a certain pressure in the tank 28, so thatthe action will be uniform. There should also be a slight escape of air in the pipe leading to the member 8, so that when the pressure is turned off a prompt releasing of the pressure in the pipe will take place, so as to permit the stop 34 to be lifted by the coiled spring 35, and thus open the passageway for the escape of condensation-water from the chamber 31. The passage-Way to the valve leading through the plug 33 may preferably be covered with a piece of wire screen 46,which will prevent any foreign substances, as lint, from the pipes being thrown into the delicate mechanism of the valve below. The nipple 30 is also directed downward in the r the nipple 12.

chamber 31,50 that condensation-water which; is gathered inthepipes is thrust in a downward, direction, so as to reach the drain-Valve and not be carried upward through the passage- 1 way 38 and through the nozzle 40 into the column of sand,which has its base in that vicin ity. The current of air which is forced through the nozzle 40 may be deflected upward bythe surface 22 of the plug, or the said plug may In this way any modifiv 3 the proper adjustment for the required efiect is had. When the said plug is turned at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 2, no 0b.,- struction is in the path of the jet of air, and consequently the sand is driven more forcibly through the delivery-pipe-leading from the column of sand supported by that partof the member 8 which isfitted with the plu'g 13 may be thus exhausted quicklyor more slowly, as is desired, and the pipe from which the exhaust is made is then gradually filled It must also be noticed that 1 again with sand from the sand-box 1 passing through the valve-opening at 13. If it is desired to fill the pipemore rapidly, the Valve may be opened wider, and vice versa if it fills too rapidly, it being understood that both sides fill with equal rapidity from. theconstruction of the valve 13 and that the plug 17 is of the exact construction as the plug 18. In addition to they modification of the effe ct of the current of air through the nozzle 40 by V turning the plugs 17 or 18 the current itself may be modified. by the screw 41, the inner end of which maybe driven into the,passageway 38 at thepoint 42, thus cutting ofithe passage partially or altogether. The parts are easy of access for cleaning out, ,as is evi-.

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valves 41 41 may be closed entirely and the v plugs 33 33 removed from below; but for ac: cess to the nozzle 40 the plug 39 may be removed by unscrewing; but at the same time the Valve in the cab must be closed.

Having thus described the construction and the operation of my device, I do not wish to be confiped to the exact construction as described, as many of the details may be varied without departing from the general spirit of my invention.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is--- 1. The herein-described track-sanding appliance for locomotives comprising a sandbox, a pipe leading downward therefrom, a forked member attached to said pipe and branching into two separate pipes, a trap member having opposite sides alike, and one of the aforesaid pipes leading to each side thereof, a turn-valve in'the forked member aforesaid arranged to control the flow of sand from the sand-box, and means for injecting air into the opposite sides of the trap aforesaid for the purpose of delivering sand to the point of application from the pipes aforesaid, substantially as specified.

2. In a track-sanding appliance of the kind described, the combination of a sand-box, a pipe leading downward therefrom, and means for supplying sand into the said pipe slowly,

a sand-trap to which the said pipe leads, a drain-valve on the lower end of said sandtrap, and a chamber above the said drainvalve arranged to collect condensation-water, an air-pipe leading into said chamber, and opening downward in the direction of said valve, and an air-passage leading out of the upper part of said chamber and opening into the lower part of the sand-pipe aforesaid for the purpose of forcing sand therethrough at a greater rate than the sand may be accumulated therein, and the said drain-valve provided with a stop controlled bya coiled spring arranged to hold the valve open normally, but permitting it to be closed by the pressure of the air during the operation of the appliance, substantially as specified.

In a track-sanding apparatus of thekind described, a sandbox having a pipe leading downward therefrom in combination with a forked member leading to two separate pipes,

and having a valve connected therewith, and

the said member adapted to be attached to the end of the pipe leading downward, and the valve thereon arranged to close the end of the said downward-leading pipe, whereby the flow of sand is regulated in both the pipes to which the said forked member leads simultaneously, substantially as specified.

4. In a track-sanding apparatus of the kind described, a sand-box, a pair of pipes leading downward therefrom, a double trap member having opposite sides alike, and the said trap member arranged to close the lower ends of said pipes, and provided with plugs projecting upwardly with sloping projections, pipes leading horizontally from said trap substantially at right angles from the pipes leading downward to it, means for directing jets of air into the trap at the lower end of the sandpipes aforesaid, and forcing the sand outward through the horizontal pipes, and the plugs aforesaid arranged at the entrance of the air-jets and adapted to be turned for the purpose of presenting varying aspects of their sloping surfaces to the jets of air aforesaid, substantially as specified.

5. In atrack-sanding appliance,a sand-trap member having a sand-supply pipe leading downward to it, a sand-delivery pipe leading from it, and a plug with asloping projection at the junction thereof together with means for injecting ajet of air into the said trap at the said junction, and the said plug arranged to be turned so as to vary the aspect of the sloping projection thereof for the purpose of modifying the effect of the air-jet in ejecting the sand through the delivery-pipe, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a track-sanding appliance,a sand-trap having a sand-supply pipe leadinginto asandchamber thereof, a sand-delivery pipe leading from said chamber,and an air-supply pipe the U-shaped passage thereof may complete a passage-way for air from the air-chamber aforesaid into the sand-chamber aforesaid, whereby the jet of air introduced to the sand is rendered dry, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. In the trap of a track-sanding appliance the combination with a sand-chamber, and an air-passage having apassage leading from the air-chamber to the sand-chamber, of a drainvalve arranged in the lower walls of the airohamber aforesaid, and a pipe leading into the said chamber and directed downward therein, a passage-way leading to the drainvalve aforesaid, and a wire-netting covering the passage leading thereto, whereby condensation-water is permitted to escape to the drain-valve, and other foreign substances arrested, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN GAPP.

WVitnesses:

CHARLES A. KIESEL, W. V. THORP, 

